Mouse Extra

According to this morning’s Mouse Planet park update for Walt Disney World, it appears Disney may be making a change to their dining reservations system.  Apparently they are going back to a 90 day window for advanced booking, from the 180 day window that currently exists.  There will be three exceptions, Chef Mickey’s, Cinderella’s Royal Table, and Victoria and Alberts.

It’s about time.  This is great news and a great decision should it come to pass.  I always thought that having to book restaurants half a year before you go on vacation was absolutely absurd.  For one thing, I don’t always plan my trips that far out and I know others don’t either.  If you booked your trip any less than six months away you don’t get a fair shake at decent ressies.  That seemed like an awful stiff price to pay for not knowing if you had the vacation time or funds to go on a trip that far in advance.

My extended family and I are scheduled to go to Walt Disney World in January, and it is amazing to me that we are trying to figure out where we are going to eat now.  Let’s hope this change is made and in the future we can take our time a bit more.

“Throwing it out in the trash” is an old news expression for releasing information late on Friday afternoon when no one is paying attention and no one reads the Saturday papers.  It is almost always information you know people are not going to be happy about and you want to minimize the impact.  That is exactly what Disney did last week when it tossed the Pleasure Island closing story into the trash.  They knew there would be a backlash, but I think they may have been a little overly cautious.

You see, on the whole I think this is a very good idea.  Sure, I don’t want to see the Adventurer’s Club close either, and hopefully Disney will figure a way to rework it into its future plans.  But the concept is a good one and a needed one.  Jim Hill was correct earlier this week when he talked about how Pleasure Island stands like a big wall between the Marketplace and the West Side.  A more seamless experience would be a big plus.

I also can not tolerate the idea of paying to get into a bar.  Call me old-fashioned, but plugging down money for a “cover” is just not in my plans.  I think the incredibly inflated drink prices are enough payment from me.  For this reason I almost never go into the clubs at Pleasure Island anymore.  I want places where I can go at night, and have a drink with my friends without having to pay a fortune.  Is that so much to ask?

And I also think the survey information we have heard so much about is also correct.  We do need some more and some new places where everyone can go to eat.  Personally, I don’t like the current crop of restaurants at Downtown Disney and I haven’t made a point to eat there in a long time.  Some new places, with great themes and atmosphere, would bring the masses back to Pleasure Island.

Why can’t we have more places that during the day and evening hours are magnificently themed family restaurants, but by night become fun hangouts for the over 21’s?  Raglan Road is a terrific example.  During the day, anyone can come in and enjoy good food in an Irish pub.  But when the night falls, it turns into a raucous drink-fest.  The best of both worlds can be achieved, but the current Pleasure Island clubs are just not set up for that.  (However, the Adventurer’s Club could be with a little retooling.)

So let’s not all fall into deep depression or start to panic here.  Disney already replaced a Pleasure Island club, the Jazz club, with the extremely popular Raglan Road.  There is no reason to believe the rest of what is coming won’t be equally as positive.

I have a soft spot for animals, I must admit.  So when I see stories come out of Disney’s Animal Kingdom like this one, I just can’t help but post it.  I mean, the picture alone is worthy of making it on the website.

Yes, that’s a beautiful new 300-plus pound bouncing baby boy, welcomed into the world welcomed into the world just this past weekend.  The mother’s name is Moyo, and I guess she hasn’t decided yet what to name her new son.

This is really what makes the Animal Kingdom such a great place.  To see the effort it takes to raise this elephant from birth to adulthood is just incredible.  As I have said before, Disney should really bring guests closer to these animals.  I think it would truly enhance the experience.

So what is Disney is planning now that they have announced that Pleasure Island will close for good in September. Disney has released some hints as to whats coming with this concept art. There is not a lot of big spoilers there but some interesting things can be gleamed from it. First of all, we can see some of changes planned to the places not being replaced such as Fulton’s and a renamed Portobello. There will be a new T-shirt shop operated by Hanes.

Perhaps most intersting is the observation balloon called the Aerophile. It is an apparent copy of a similiar attraction at Disney’s Paris parks. I have long maintained that Disney should have a ferris wheel at Disney’s Boardwalk. To me, it would be perfect for the theme and, placed where the Atlantic Dance Hall is, would provide terrific views of Epcot and the Stuidos. I would assume that is no accident that a few days before Disney’s Pleasure Island announcement, a developer unveiled plans for a huge ferris wheel in Orlando. It usually takes something like this to get Disney to respond.

I still would prefer a wheel at the Boardwalk. Its a better spot for an observation attraction but the balloon will be interesting and will take a lot of the appeal away from the ferris wheel that was announced. After all, that wheel will be a distance from the parks. As dribs and drabs of the new offerings at Pleasure Island do come out, I hope they are at least as interesting as the balloon.

Today’s report is from Mike, contributing writer to Mouse Extra.

Today, June 26th, Disney has finally annouced one of the worst kept secrets they had going in a long time. As reported in this article at the Orlando Sentinel, Pleasure Island will be no more. Disney has announced the information on their FAQ page here.

BET SoundStage Club, Mannequins Dance Palace, 8Trax  and other clubs, 6 in total, will be closing permanently on September 27th it what Disney has termed a “bold new” vision. Disney will be keeping open the shops, cigar shop and restaurants, but not the night clubs. That includes the Adventurers Club and the Comedy Club as well

As I said, this has been a longtime coming. Pleasure Island was initially a great success and very much responsible for the dwindling night life in other parts of Orlando. But as time has come and gone (the Island has been around for nearly 20 years), its popularity has waned. Disney is leaning more and more to place such as Raglan Road (one of the restraurants that will surely survive this). Similiar in concept but different in theme is the coming South American eatery and tequila bar that will replace one of the current clubs. This is the future of the area: food and drinks with entertainment and no cover charge.

I do hope the Adventurers’ Club survives in some form somewhere. It was the only truly Disney experience on Pleasure Island. One rumor is the club will become the port of entry to the Night Kingdom park. I wouldn’t mind seeing the club moved to the Animal Kingdom as long as that park begins to increase its hours (an unlikely scenario for sure) or perhaps it will return to Pleasure Island someday as the last bastion of the old girl.

It appears Disney and Pixar have quite a good film on their hands as “Wall-E” opened to rave reviews this morning.  The film, which many industry experts feared might be a little too intellectual for the average cartoon fan, has obviously hit a perfectly in tune chord with many critics.

As an example, here is part of this morning’s review in the New York Times…

The first 40 minutes or so of “Wall-E” — in which barely any dialogue is spoken, and almost no human figures appear on screen — is a cinematic poem of such wit and beauty that its darker implications may take a while to sink in.

And then there is this from the Chicago Tribune…

While I may argue with the little guy’s taste in musicals, it’s remarkable to see any film, in any genre, blend honest sentiment with genuine wit and a visual landscape unlike any other.

Good for Pixar! And good for us.

And just to add one more cherry to the top of this sundae, here is what the Boston Globe had to say…

With “WALL-E,” Pixar at last takes the great leap forward many of us knew the company had in it. A “family movie” in name and MPAA rating only, it’s a major visionary work, a sci-fi parable of astonishing scope and depth that is anchored by an adorable bucket of bolts and yoked to a sensibility that is - there’s no other word for it - furious. It’s also, by a substantial margin, the best American film of the year to date.

So it sounds like if you were on the fence about seeing this movie it is time to hop off and get to the nearest theater.  I have yet to see a Pixar produced film I did not like.  Last year’s “Ratatouille” blew me away and I raved about it.  Can “Wall-E” actually be better than my beloved Little Chef? 

I hope to see it this weekend and get you my review as soon as possible.  Please feel free to post your own review in the comments section of this posting.  I can’t wait to hear what my fellow Disney addicts think of this new blockbuster.